The Collector
by Ayiana89
Summary: The Doctor and Martha spend some well deserved time on a holiday planet. But then the Doctor is being captured by an unknown villain and it's up to Martha to find out what happened to him. Ten/Martha.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **This story is a continuation of my stories_ "Attack of the Ladurians" _and_ "By Your Side" _but you don't need to have read them to understand this story.

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta-reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

When Martha woke up it was still early in the morning, as far as she could tell. It was very hard to keep track of time while one was on the TARDIS. But she was sure that she couldn't have slept longer than six hours.

She turned around to lie on her side and was a bit surprised to see a sleeping Time Lord lying next to her. The Doctor needed less sleep than she did and he was usually already up when she awoke. She wasn't even sure if he actually slept every night or just got up as soon as she'd fallen asleep. That was a shame since she really liked waking up next to him but he usually made it up to her by making breakfast.

But as she thought of it she realised that it wasn't really surprising that he slept longer than usual. They had spent the last week on a planet where he'd helped the inhabitants to repair an old computer which ran the entire capital city almost on its own and she wasn't sure if he'd got any sleep at all while they had been on the planet. Even a Time Lord needed to catch up on sleep after a week like that. Not to mention that they hadn't had much time for each other while they'd been on the planet so they'd done a lot of other "catching up" before going to sleep, which had also added to his exhaustion.

Martha propped her head up on her hand and looked down at her lover. He looked kind of cute when he was asleep. Much more peaceful than when he was awake. She liked watching him but she didn't often get the chance to do so even though they shared a bedroom.

They had been in a relationship for a bit more than a year. And they were closer than she'd ever been with anyone else. It had taken them a long time to get there. She'd spent two years thinking he didn't see her and feeling second best. It had taken her walking away from him to make the Doctor realise his feelings for her. And it took even longer for him to fully open up to her, to talk about the Time War and a lot of other things he'd never shared with anyone else before. And now they'd finally got past all this and could just enjoy being together.

While Martha lay there on her side watching his features the Doctor started to stir.

"Good morning," Martha whispered as he slowly opened his eyes.

He turned to lie on his side, facing her and put his left arm around her body while he supported his head with his other arm. "Good morning," he said.

"Do you know that you look really cute when you're asleep?" she asked.

"As a fact, I didn't," he replied. She grinned at him and reached out with her hand to touch his cheek.

"What do you think about going on holiday?" he asked her out of the blue. "We could go to Durelia and relax a bit."

Martha remembered the last time she'd been on Durelia a year ago. The Doctor had taken her there on a date just after he'd first told her about his feelings for her. It was a very beautiful planet with three suns. Most of the planet's surface was covered with ocean except for lots of big and small islands. The Doctor had told her that the people on the planet lived mostly from tourism.

She had only seen one very small island while they'd been there the last time. The only building on the island had been the restaurant they'd been to. And she would love to see more of the planet.

"Sounds good," she said. "But since when do you want to relax?"

His hand stroked her naked back absent mindedly "We've been through a lot lately and I just thought it would be nice to have a bit of time for each other without having to run for our lives."

Martha smiled at him. "That's a brilliant idea. But with our luck some aliens are going to invade Durelia while we're there."

"Hopefully not," he replied. He pulled her closer to him so he could kiss her.

...

A few hours later the TARDIS landed on a hill under a large tree. Martha opened the door and stepped outside. The view was breath-taking. They had landed on one of the larger islands on Durelia, just outside a small town. A narrow path led down the hill towards the town, and to her left she could see a long, deserted beach and the ocean bathed in golden sunlight. It was still early in the morning and only two of the three suns had risen so far.

The Doctor emerged from the TARDIS with two bags over his shoulder. "What do you think?" he asked her as he pulled the door shut behind him.

"It's beautiful," she said. He grinned at her.

"Do you see that building over there?" he asked, indicating a big, white house that was the closest to where they stood right now.

"Is that the hotel?" Martha asked. The Doctor had contacted the hotel earlier to book a room for them.

"Yes. Let's go there first, then we can go and explore the town."

"Alright. But this afternoon we will go to the beach," Martha said. The Doctor gripped her hand with his free hand while somehow managing to carry both bags with one arm and led her down the path towards the hotel.

...

As soon as they entered the reception hall of the small hotel they were greeted by a woman with light blue skin and long white hair. She was wearing a long white dress and had a broad smile on her face. Martha remembered that the waiters of the restaurant they'd been to a year ago had had the same blue skin and white hair. She assumed that this was what the native species of this planet looked like.

"Welcome to Durelia," she said. "My name is Firala, I'm the owner of this hotel."

"Hello," the Doctor grinned at her. "I'm the Doctor and this is Martha."

"Ah, yes. I remember you called earlier. Let me show you to your room." Firala turned around and led them to a door at the end of the hall.

The hotel wasn't very big so they reached their room in a short time. Firala handed Martha the key.

"If you have any questions feel free to ask me. Or you can also use one of our computer terminals," Firala said, indicating a screen on the wall in their room.

"Thank you," the Doctor said and smiled at her. Firala gave them both a broad smiles and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Why were we greeted by the owner?" Martha asked.

"This is only a small hotel. And it's the only hotel on this island. I wanted to go somewhere there are not so many other tourists."

"Good idea," Martha said. She looked around the room. It wasn't very big but very nicely furnished with a large bed and a couch. There was also a balcony attached to the room with chairs and a table on it.

The Doctor put their bags down next to the bed. "What do you think?" he asked her.

"I like it," Martha said. She noticed that this was the second time he'd asked her that since they'd landed here and she realised that he must have planned this holiday mostly for her. He wasn't the kind of person who liked to relax, let alone for a whole week. The only reason he would consider staying on a holiday planet for seven days and spending hours on a beach doing nothing was to make her happy. And that thought made her smile.

She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck. "Thank you," she said and kissed him softly.

He smiled. "Anything for you, Dr. Jones."

...

Firala returned to the empty reception hall. She didn't expect any new guests for the day so she went into her office to do the paper work she'd been supposed to finish a week ago.

"Was it him?" a voice asked behind her. Firala jumped slightly and wheeled around to face the man who stood next to the door.

"Couldn't you have waited outside? You gave me a fright."

"I didn't want them to see me," he said. "So, was it him?"

"He looked like the man in the picture you showed me. They will stay for a week."

"Thank you. I'll let you know when I know more," he turned around.

"What does your boss want from this man," Firala asked him before he could leave.

The man turned around again. "Don't worry about that. Just keep to our agreement and let us know when he leaves the hotel and where he's going. We will see to everything else." With that he left the room and made his way towards the back door.

Firala looked after him uneasily. She wasn't sure anymore if she'd done the right thing by agreeing to the arrangement with this man. But he'd offered her a lot of money and her hotel wasn't doing so well.

She let out the breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and turned around to her desk. Before she started doing the paperwork she made sure to keep an eye on the reception hall through the open door so she would know as soon as her new guests left their room.

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><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this to his/her favourite stories list. And of course thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

After they had unpacked their bags and Martha had changed into a light sundress, she and the Doctor left their hotel room. The Doctor was still wearing his usual brown, pinstriped suit despite the hot weather on the planet. Martha briefly wondered if he also intended to wear it when they went to the beach later on. She'd never seen him wear swimming trunks before. This was their first real holiday and the few times they'd been in the swimming pool on the TARDIS they hadn't bothered with wearing anything at all.

When they reached the reception hall Firala came in through a door on the other side of the hall.

"Hello," she greeted them, smiling brightly. "You're going to explore the island?"

"Yes, we want to take a look at the town," the Doctor answered.

"There is a big market in the centre of town. You might want to go there and look for souvenirs."

"I think we will. Thank you," Martha replied

Firala smiled again. "I hope you'll have a nice time."

**...**

It was a lovely day as they strolled through the small town. They passed a lot of restaurants and cafés, but the only real tourist attraction was the market in the centre of the town which Firala had told them about. Most people they saw were the blue skinned natives of Durelia, but when they reached the market they came across some different alien species.

Martha walked around the market, looking at the different stalls with interest as she searched for some gifts for her family. The Doctor walked next to her and explained some of the objects she couldn't place. She bought a device for her mother that could heat up cold liquids in a matter of seconds.

Martha stopped at a stall that sold jewellery to look for a gift for her sister.

Next to her stood a man looking at the jewellery in front of him with great interest. He was clearly a tourist as well. He looked like a strange hybrid between a man and a fish. He looked up as they stopped next to him. "There's really some of the most beautiful jewellery here, don't you think?" he asked excitedly. Martha regarded the jewellery before her. It looked pretty much like every other jewellery she'd seen before. Nothing special.

"Yeah, it's very pretty," she said, looking up at the fishman again.

"This planet is so amazing. You must know this is the first time I've ever left my home world," he told them.

"How long have you been here?" the Doctor asked.

"I arrived a few days ago. I'm staying in a hotel on the other side of this island. There's a city there. Much bigger than this town and lots of tourists all over the place. What about you?" They moved a bit to the side now to keep out of the way of passers-by who wanted to take a look at the stall.

"We're staying in a small hotel next to this town. Only arrived today," the Doctor explained.

"Have you been to other alien planets before?" the fishman asked.

Martha and the Doctor exchanged a look. "A few," the Doctor said.

"That must have been fascinating," the fishman mused. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name is Giranlo."

"I'm Martha, and this is the Doctor," Martha said

It was nearly time for lunch so they invited Giranlo to join them. They found a restaurant near the beach and sat down at a table next to the window. They could see the ocean when they looked outside. During lunch they told Giranlo about a few of the planets they'd been to, including Earth. He was fascinated and hung on their every word.

Giranlo, in return, told them about his home planet and his time on Durelia so far. His species lived in the oceans of his planet which wasn't really surprising given how he looked. They built their cities on the ocean bed under gigantic domes which kept the water out. His species could survive under water for a long period of time but they lived mostly on dry land and breathed air like most of other species. Their planet had only a small amount of land which was why Giranlo's species built their cities under water.

"I've always wanted to see other planets," he told them. "And I've seen so many amazing things since I got here. There's this museum in the city where I'm staying. You just have to visit it while you're here. It belongs to this rich man, he's an Iluvian but has lived on Durelia for years," Giranlo told them. "And he's collecting everything that's unique. He's got thousands of different items from all over the universe. Mostly objects of art that are different to anything else that has ever been made. It's fascinating."

"It certainly sounds very interesting," the Doctor said.

"We could go there tomorrow," Martha suggested, looking at the Doctor.

"Maybe we'll see each other there," Giranlo said. "I was planning on going there again."

**...**

They said goodbye to Giranlo after lunch and headed back to the hotel. Before putting on a bikini Martha rummaged through her bag to find her phone. She'd promised her mother to call her on a regular basis when she'd told her that she was travelling with the Doctor again and she knew for a fact that her mother would panic if she waited too long. The last time she hadn't called for a few days had been when she and the Doctor had been thrown in a prison on an alien planet because of a misunderstanding, and by the time she had got her phone back it had shown fifty missed calls.

The Doctor sat on the bed reading a book he had found on the shelf in their room while she talked to her mother.

Her mother was very happy to hear that they were for once not in a dangerous situation but on holiday. She still wasn't entirely happy about the fact that Martha was travelling with the Doctor again. She had merely accepted that she couldn't stop her daughter, no matter what she said.

Martha promised her mother that she and the Doctor would visit her first thing after their holiday, eliciting a not so happy glance from the Doctor, and ended the call.

"Right then," the Doctor said, putting the book down on the bedside table. "Beach?"

"Sure," Martha said grinning. She put her phone down on her bedside table and started rummaging through her bag again in search of her bikini.

**...**

A couple of minutes later the two of them made their way to the beach. This part of the beach wasn't as occupied as other beaches on Durelia. The Doctor told Martha that the beach on the other side of the island, next to the city where their new friend Giranlo was staying, was full of tourists all year.

"We could take a look at the city while we're there tomorrow to visit the museum Giranlo told us about," Martha said. "I like this small town but there isn't much to see."

"That's a great idea," the Doctor said, grinning at her.

They walked along the beach hand in hand till they reached a small bay. There was no one else near them. The beach in the bay was completely deserted. There weren't even footprints in the golden sand.

"This is beautiful," Martha said looking around her. They were surrounded by cliffs with trees and grass on top of them and to one side the blue ocean.

"Let's go swimming," the Doctor said.

"I'd like to lie on the beach for a bit," Martha said, dumping her beach towel on the sand.

"We can do that later. Come on." He picked her up and started running towards the water.

"Doctor!" Martha tried to sound angry but she couldn't stifle a laugh. "Let me down, right now!" She tried to look stern but failed miserably.

"Alright." He let go of her and dumped her in the warm water. Martha let out a squeak.

The Doctor got down on his knees beside her while she wiped the water out of her eyes and tried but failed not to laugh.

"You're going to pay for this," she told him playfully and spattered him with water. Now it was his turn to wipe his eyes. When he looked up he grinned at her. Martha returned his smile. She leaned forward and kissed him hard, her arms wrapped around his neck.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think and review.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thanks for all your support. And a big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

The city on the other side of the island was very different to the small town Martha and the Doctor had explored the day before. It looked much more futuristic with white buildings several stories high, and flying vehicles. The city was flooded with tourists from every part of the galaxy. Martha had never seen so many different aliens in one place.

She and the Doctor arrived early that day in one of the flying vehicles that took tourists wherever they wanted to go on the planet. As soon as they arrived one of the Durelians pressed a brochure into Martha's hands. It was a guide to all the different tourist attractions of the city. Martha flipped through the pages while they walked down a crowded street. One of the pages caught her eye.

"Look," she said, showing the Doctor the brochure. "That must be the museum Giranlo swooned over."

The Doctor looked at the page. "I think you're right." He looked at the address at the top of the page. "That's about a mile in that direction." He pointed in the direction.

"Shall we go there first or explore the city?" Martha asked. She had seen a few other tourists attractions in the brochure that had awakened her interest.

"It says here that the museum is only opened in the afternoon so let's explore the city first. Is there anywhere you want to go?"

After going through the brochure once again they picked a few places they wanted to visit.

Martha suggested going to the theatre and they bought tickets for a performance in the evening. "Very good choice, Dr. Jones," the Doctor said. "We haven't been to the theatre since our first date."

"You said it wasn't a date back then," Martha said, smiling as she remembered meeting Shakespeare.

"I was lying." She looked up at him and grinned. "Seriously, what kind of a man takes a beautiful girl to the theatre and to meet Shakespeare and it's not a date?"

"That's what I thought."

"I wasn't ready to admit it back then. I was afraid of letting anyone come to close to me again, not to mention that I would have felt guilty for being interested in someone in that way so soon after losing Rose, but when I think about my actions now… It was definitely a date." He was quiet for a moment. "I was such an idiot back then."

"Don't start with that again," Martha said. "We've talked about all of it and we've worked hard to get past it." She was silent for a moment. "I always think of our first visit to Durelia as our first date," she said. They had resolved all of their issues that evening on the beach. The Doctor had opened up and talked about his feelings and it had been in many ways the start of their new relationship.

"Maybe you're right," the Doctor said. "It definitely worked out a lot better."

**...**

After they'd walked around the city for hours, visiting the most famous tourist attractions and enjoying the day they stopped for lunch at a restaurant. Martha had trouble deciding what she wanted to eat. The restaurant offered dishes from dozens of different worlds, but none from Earth. In the end she ordered a slightly purple soufflé that tasted like chicken.

They left the restaurant sated and walked towards the museum hand in hand.

When they entered the museum they were greeted by an alien sitting behind a desk. It was the first time Martha saw someone who worked on this planet who wasn't a Durelian.

"Welcome," he said, grinning brightly at them. "Two tickets?" he asked.

"Yes," Martha replied.

"I need your names and a certification of who you are. Sorry, but it's standard procedure. We've had a few security issues lately. Someone tried to steal a few of the exhibits. I just need to make sure that you are who you say you are."

The Doctor told him their names and showed him the psychic paper. After they got their tickets they went through a big door next to the desk into a greater hall.

"I hope Giranlo wasn't exaggerating," Martha said, looking about.

The hall was white and brightly illuminated despite the fact that there were only a few small windows and there were at least three security guards in the room. Whoever owned this place was very afraid of unwanted intruders. Martha voiced her thoughts.

"That would explain why the man at the entrance wanted to check our identities," the Doctor replied.

They walked towards the first glass case in the room. It held an old, beaten up book.

"Now that is interesting," the Doctor said, looking at the cover. "This book is the journal of a monarch who reigned on Durelia about three hundred thousand years ago. There exists only one exemplar in the entire universe. It has never been duplicated."

"Like Giranlo said, this is collection of everything that is entirely unique in the universe," Martha said. She stepped away from the glass case and approached a display on the wall she had noticed earlier. It showed a map of the museum. Next to every room were listed the the names of every planet from where the exhibits it held had originated.

"Doctor, look! There are even a few things from Earth here," she said, turning around. The Doctor followed her to the display. He took his glasses out of his suit pocket and put them on before regarding the map intensely. "That's an impressive number of planets," he said. He put his glasses back into his pocket.

"I think Giranlo wasn't exaggerating after all." He gripped her hand and together they strolled around the first room, looking at the contents of every glass case.

When they entered the second room Martha heard someone calling their names. She and the Doctor turned around to see Giranlo running toward them. He stopped in front of them and greeted both of them with a hug. Martha was a bit taken aback by the fishman hugging her as if he'd known her for years but the Doctor didn't seem to be surprised.

"It's so great to see you two! I was hoping to see you here," he exclaimed. "So what do you think of this place?"

"It's fascinating," Martha said smiling. "But we haven't seen much yet."

"You don't mind if I join you, don't you?"

"No, not at all," Martha said smiling. Giranlo smiled back. He walked towards one of the glass cases and the Doctor and Martha followed him. The Doctor leaned down to whisper into Martha's ear.

"That behaviour is quite normal for his species," the Doctor explained. "They always hug people even if they haven't known them long. It means he likes us."

**...**

Giranlo was soon fascinated by how much the Doctor knew about the different exhibits in the museum. He hung on the Doctor's every word while they walked through the different sections of the museum.

The Doctor was just telling him about the culture of a planet that a lot of the exhibition pieces had come from when a man approached them. He had light purple skin and was wearing a long grey robe.

"Could I have a moment of your time?" he asked the Doctor, but kept talking without waiting for an answer. "My name is Anres, I'm the owner of this museum."

"Hello, I'm the Doctor," the Doctor introduced himself, wondering what Anres wanted from him.

"I'm sorry but we scanned you when you entered the building. It's a standard procedure.

Anyway, the scan told us your species and I just had to talk to you in person. I had never thought that I would be able meet a Time Lord. I know that you are the only one left and it's an honour to meet you."

"Sorry, what's a Time Lord?" Giranlo asked. Anres shot him a short annoyed look.

"That's my species," the Doctor said. He noticed that Martha was on the other side of the room, looking at something that had caught her interest. She probably hadn't even noticed Anres yet.

"I have always been fascinated by your species," Anres continued. "I have a small collection of things from Gallifrey that survived the Time War. Maybe you want to take a look at them?"

"You have?" the Doctor asked surprised. It was possible that some things from his home world still existed. Maybe they hadn't been on Gallifrey when it had been destroyed. It couldn't be much, nothing important but it would be something from his home.

Anres nodded. "It's not in the museum. I keep my most precious pieces in a secret and safe place. But I will only show you, no one else." He shot a pointed look towards Giranlo.

"I would like to take someone with me," the Doctor said, looking towards Martha on the other side of the room. She still wasn't looking in their direction. If Anres really had found something that was from Gallifrey, even if it was a cup or something it would be an emotional moment for him and he wanted Martha to be there.

"No," Anres said.

"I can assure you that you can trust her."

"I'm only showing you because you're the last of the Time Lords. No one else will see the more precious pieces of my collection," Anres said. It was very clear that he wouldn't change his mind.

"Come," he said. He turned around and walked towards a door.

"Go," Giranlo said. "I will tell Martha where you are and that you will be back soon. She will understand."

The Doctor nodded. Of course she would. "Thanks. See you later," the Doctor said to his new friend. Then he turned around and followed Anres.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you enjoyed it. Please let me know what you think and review.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed. You made my day. And of course thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

Anres led the Doctor through a door with a sign on it that said "staff only". Behind the door was a corridor with a few doors on each side. Anres walked to the end of the corridor where he pressed his hands against the wall. The wall slid to one side and revealed a small room and a metal door behind it. Anres walked into the room and put his left hand on a panel next to the door. The Doctor regarded the panel.

"That's a DNA scanner, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," Anres nodded shortly. "One can never be too careful. It is programmed to let only me and my most trusted personnel in." The door slipped open and revealed a staircase behind it. Anres walked down the stairs and the Doctor followed him. As soon as he'd stepped through the door it automatically shut behind him.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs they stood again in front of a heavy iron door. "We are now under the museum. This is the only entrance. Behind this door are the most precious pieces of my collection." Anres made a show of opening the iron door. As soon as they stepped through it the room was illuminated brightly. It was a very big room with white walls and everything looked very clean. All across the room were glass cases, some very large, some smaller. The biggest glass case almost reached the high ceiling.

Most of the cases were covered with large sheets so the Doctor couldn't see what was inside them. But he didn't pay them much attention. His mind was focused on the glass case in front of him. It was the one Anres approached now. He stopped beside it and watched as the Doctor stepped closer. It held a crystal that clearly originated from Gallifrey, a book with Gallifreyan letters and a fob watch. It was his fob watch, the one he had given to Tim Latimer in 1913. He didn't know how it had ended up on Durelia but it was now the 57th century on Earth. The watch must have travelled a long way before it had reached Anres.

"That's my fob watch," he told Anres. "I gave it to a human in the 20th century."

"I've wondered how it had ended up on Earth," Anres said. "That's where I've found it a few years ago."

The Doctor smiled at the coincidence before his eyes shifted back to the book. It was just a book that held stories for children. He remembered having owned one when he was a child. A very familiar sadness washed over him as he remembered his childhood and his home. He felt his eyes filling with tears and quickly blinked them away. He once again wished Anres had allowed Martha to come with them. He desperately wanted to feel her arms around him when she tried to comfort him. She was the only one who could lighten his pain when something reminded him of his home and his people and family.

"I had a copy of that book when I was a child," he said. Anres nodded shortly, his face emotionless. In that moment the Doctor heard the door open behind him.

"Ah, there you are. What took you so long," Anres said. The Doctor turned to see who had come in and was startled.

"Giranlo?" he asked, confused.

The fishman grinned excitedly. "This room is amazing, isn't it?" he said. "Even better than the rest of the museum."

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor asked.

"Giranlo is one of my most trusted employees," Anres explained. He walked around the glass case to stand next to the Doctor. "I asked him to make you come here to visit my museum after I found out that you were on the planet."

"It was really easy. I just needed to start a conversation with you and your girlfriend, and tell you about how fascinating this museum was," Giranlo said. The kind look in his eyes had vanished the moment Anres had revealed who Giranlo really was.

"Why did you want me to come here?" the Doctor asked. He had a bad feeling about the situation. His brain was working on a way to get to the door but Giranlo was standing in the way. The Doctor tried to move away from Anres, but as soon as he moved the owner of the museum gripped his arm and plunged a needle into it.

"I'll explain that later," Anres said. He let go of his arm and the Doctor immediately moved a few steps away from him. He felt light-headed and gripped the edge of the glass case for support.

"What did you inject me with?" he asked.

"Just one of the few sedatives that work for Time Lords," Anres said, a small smile on his face. It was the first time the Doctor had seen any form of emotion on Anres' face.

The Doctor's vision started to go blurry. He lost his grip on the glass case and fell backwards. He saw Giranlo catching him and putting him carefully down on the floor before everything went black.

**...**

Martha was starting to get worried. She had just taken a look at one of the glass cases and when she'd looked up the Doctor and their new friend Giranlo were nowhere to be seen. She had searched every bloody room of the museum but she couldn't find them anywhere.

She had made up her mind to buy the Doctor a mobile phone the next time they were on Earth. And he was going to carry it around all the time whether he liked it or not.

"Martha," someone called from across the room. She turned around and saw Giranlo waving at her. She immediately walked towards him. She couldn't see the Doctor anywhere but she hoped Giranlo would be able to tell her where he was.

"Have you seen the Doctor?" she asked as soon as she'd reached him.

"Yes, he asked me to tell you something."

"What is it?" Martha asked.

"He found something in one of the glass cases, and he said it was impossible it was here. I don't know what it was and why it was so important but he said he needed to check it out as soon as possible. When we couldn't find you he asked me to look for you and tell you that he's gone back somewhere. The TARDIS?" he said uncertainly.

"Yes, that's our ship," Martha said, nodding. "Did he say anything else?"

"Only that you should meet him there as soon as possible."

Martha nodded again. Whatever the Doctor had found, it must be really important or he wouldn't have left without her. She was certain of that.

"Thank you, Giranlo," she said and turned around.

"Shall I come with you?" Giranlo asked. "Maybe I can help."

"Thanks, but I think it's better if you stay here. I'll let you know if you can help us," Martha said. She didn't know enough about him to take him to the TARDIS even if she didn't have any reason not to trust him.

"I'll see you again soon," she said with a smile before she turned around again and walked towards the exit.

"Looking forward to it," Giranlo called after her.

As soon as she was out of earshot he took a communication device out of his pocket and pressed a button.

"It worked," he said calmly into it. "She's taking us directly to the TARDIS."

"Good work," came the reply. "Now make sure you don't lose her."

Giranlo pocketed the device and followed Martha.

**...**

The Doctor slowly came back to full consciousness. The first thing he felt was the dull pain in his head. He opened his eyes but screwed them shut again immediately because of the bright light. He tried to move but he couldn't. His wrists and ankles were restrained and he was lying on something hard, probably a table.

He slowly opened his eyes again and blinked several times before he got used to the light.

"Ah, you're awake," he heard Anres say. "I thought the sedative would work longer but well."

The Doctor managed to lift his head so he could see Anres standing behind a small console. Anres gave him a smile before looking back on the console at what he'd been working on before the Doctor had woken up.

The Doctor concentrated on the chains around his wrists but they were too tight and he couldn't find a way to get free. He looked up at Anres again.

"What do you want?" he said. He had a bad feeling that he already knew the answer but he wanted Anres to confirm it.

"Isn't that obvious?" Anres asked as he looked up from the console again. He slowly walked towards the Doctor till he stood next to the table, looking down at his prisoner.

"I'm a collector. I collect everything that is entirely unique. It's quite an obsession." He grinned. "And you are very unique."

"You can't be serious," the Doctor said. "There is a difference between an unique book and a person. You can't just imprison me because I'm unique!"

"Well, I just did." Anres leaned down to look at him closer. "And I don't care about the difference. All I care about is my collection." Anres walked back to the console. "Oh, by the way, your TARDIS will soon be part of my collection too. Giranlo tricked your girlfriend into showing us directly where it is." Anres gripped something that was lying next to the console and returned to the Doctor's side.

"Let's find out how long you'll need to wake up after a bigger dose of the sedative," Anres said as he plunged the needle in his arm. "And when you wake up we will have a stasis capsule ready for you."

Before he drifted into unconsciousness again the Doctor thought of Martha, knowing she would do anything to find him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you enjoyed this. Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I'm so sorry for the delay. I had a bit of a writers block.

Thank you so much for all the reviews I got for the last chapter. They made my day!

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta-reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

It was already getting dark when Martha reached the hill outside the small town where they had left the TARDIS. Martha inserted her key into the lock and pushed the door open.

"Doctor?" she asked as she stepped into the console room and closed the door behind her. She stopped in the middle of the ramp that led up to the console. Something was wrong.

The light in the console room wasn't bright enough. They had shut down some of the TARDIS' systems for the time of their holiday. But if the Doctor had returned, he would have activated all the systems again.

There wasn't any sign of the Doctor's presence in the room. His coat wasn't slung over the coral column like it always was when he was in the TARDIS.

Martha started to get worried. Maybe something had happened to him on the way back. Maybe someone didn't want him to find out whatever it was the Doctor had found out according to Giranlo. She wasn't even sure if Giranlo had told her the truth.

Martha took a deep breath to calm herself down a bit. She walked through the door that led deeper into the TARDIS and called the Doctor's name. She knew the TARDIS would make sure the Doctor would hear her if he was anywhere in the TARDIS. She wasn't really expecting an answer but it was still possible that whatever he came back for wasn't in the console room. She walked toward a door near the console room and looked inside. It was a lab the Doctor sometimes used when he needed to give something a closer check than the scans he usually did in the console room and Martha wasn't surprised to find it empty. She turned around and headed back to the console room. As soon as she reached the console she pressed a few buttons to reactivate all the systems.

The Doctor had once showed her how to operate the scanner so she knew what buttons she had to press to scan for Time Lord life signs, first inside the TARDIS, then on the entire planet. Both scans were negative.

Martha frowned, now really worried. She was now sure that something must have happened to the Doctor. Someone had kidnapped him and was blocking the signal so the scanner couldn't find him. At least she hoped that was the reason. If he wasn't on the planet anymore she would most likely never find him. At least she knew that he was still alive. The Doctor had a telepathic link to his ship and if he died the TARDIS would shut herself down.

**...**

It was late evening when she left the TARDIS, ensuring she had locked the door behind her. She had spent the last hours reading everything about Durelia and the museum she had found in the database of the TARDIS. She couldn't find anything suspicious about the museum and its owner, a man called Anres who had been living on Durelia for years. Apparently he was very rich and had left his home world to move to Durelia to open his museum, bringing a lot of the exhibits with him. He seemed to be obsessed with everything unique according to an article a journalist had written about him a couple of years ago.

After she had searched all the information she could find and had again scanned for Time Lord life signs without any results she had decided to go back to the hotel. She wanted to talk with someone who lived on this planet to get more information, especially whether or not there was some kind of police force that could help her find the Doctor, and the only person she could think of was Firala, the owner of the hotel she lived in. Tomorrow she would go back to the city and the museum to see if she could find out anything there. She hoped she would see Giranlo again. He was the last person who'd seen the Doctor before he'd disappeared.

**...**

She reached the hotel in a short time and saw Firala sitting in her office through the open door. Martha walked toward the office and stopped in the doorway.

"Still working?" she asked.

Firala looked up. "Oh, yes. I don't like doing the paperwork so I always wait and do it all at once. Would be easier to just do it instantly so I don't have to spend an entire day to catch up but I never learn." Firala grinned.

Martha returned the smile. "Look, I wanted to know if you could help me," Martha began.

"Sure, what is it?"

"You remember the man I arrived with, the Doctor?"

"Yes, of course I remember. I don't have enough guests to not remember all of them," Firala smiled again, but the smile looked worried and nervous. As if a fear she had had was about to come true.

"Well, he's missing. We went to this museum and I lost sight of him there, and now I can't find him. I even scanned the planet for him. Is there some sort of organisation on this planet that can help in this situation?" Now Martha could clearly see the dread on Firala's face.

"A museum," the Durelian repeated.

"Yes," Martha said. "What is it?"

Firala got slowly up and walked toward the window. "Oh my gods," she whispered, not looking in Martha's direction any more.

"Firala," Martha said, raising her voice a bit. "Do you know something about this?"

"It's my fault," Firala said, turning back towards Martha.

"What are you talking about?" Martha asked.

Firala looked at her for a few moments before she seemed to make a decision. "A few years ago a man showed up in my hotel. He said he was looking for someone he believed might come to Durelia someday. He said he would pay me if I informed him when I saw this man. He said the man would call himself "the Doctor" and if I heard of anyone with that name I should call him immediately. I know that a few of my colleagues also had visits from this man, but he said he was working for Anres, the owner of a museum in the city on this island."

"That's the museum we went to today"

Firala nodded. "The man said that Anres only wanted to meet the Doctor and talk to him but that the Doctor was hard to find. I met Anres a couple of years ago and he seemed very nice so I didn't think anything odd about the story. I didn't hear anything from him for a really long time till your friend called to book a room and told me his name. I contacted the man who had asked me to tell him if I heard something about the Doctor. He was here in only an hour. He promised me a lot of money if I would inform him about where the Doctor was going while he was here and he assured me once again that Anres only wanted to talk to him. I had a bad feeling in that moment but my hotel wasn't doing so well. I had lost a lot of money and I really needed the money that man promised me." Firala fell silent for a moment and closed her eyes. When she opened them again and looked Martha in the eye Martha could see the remorse and shame in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Firala said. "I should have listened to my feelings and not made that deal with that man." Firala walked a few steps towards Martha and stopped again.

"What do you think Anres wants with the Doctor?" she asked.

Martha had thought about that question since Firala had revealed that Anres had something to do with the Doctor's disappearance.

"I don't know. I have a theory but..."

"What's your theory?" Firala asked.

"Anres seems to be obsessed with everything that's entirely unique. He's spent his entire life collecting everything unique. And the Doctor is the only surviving member of his species."

"Oh my gods," Firala whispered again. "You think he would add a person to his collection?"

"It's just a theory," Martha stopped for a moment. "And if I'm right they would be after the TARDIS as well." With that she turned around, ran through the door and out of the hotel. She ran the entire way up the hill next to the small town till she reached the top and the tree that stood there. The TARDIS was nowhere to be seen but Martha noticed a square imprint in the grass.

She heard someone behind her and turned around. Firala had followed her and now reached the top of the hill. She stopped next to Martha, panting for breath.

"They must have followed me," Martha said.

"What happened," Firala asked confused. Martha realised Firala probably had no idea why she had run here all of a sudden.

"The TARDIS, that's the Doctor's ship, was parked right here. They must have followed me earlier and when I went to your hotel they took it." Martha felt panic rise within her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down and keep a clear head. She had become very good at keeping a clear head in desperate situations ever since she'd walked the earth for a year on her own, constantly living in fear of being found by the Master or his Toclafane.

"Firala, the man who'd contacted you. Did he give his name or can you tell me what he looked like?"

"No, he didn't give his name," Firala said. "But I've never seen another member of his species before. He might even be the only one on the planet. I don't know what his species is called but he looks like a humanoid fish. He's got blue scales."

Martha's eyes widened when she realised that Firala's description exactly matched Giranlo.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: <strong>Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this. RL got in the way.

Thank you so much for all the support. Your reviews always make my day. And thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

I wish you all a merry Christmas!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

When the first rays of one of the suns fell through the window the next morning, Martha was already awake. She had lain awake on her side of the bed in Firala's hotel for hours, staring at the ceiling while she tried to figure out what to do. She had barely slept at all even though she knew that she had to sleep to keep up her strength if she wanted to find the Doctor. But she hadn't been able to take her mind off the events of the previous day long enough to find sleep.

She pushed the blanket to the side and got out of bed. After a quick shower she put on some jeans and a t-shirt, then pulled her hair back into a simple ponytail.

Just as she grabbed her keys and made for the door she was startled by a soft knock. She took the last few steps towards the door and pulled it open to reveal Firala with a tray of food.

"Good morning," Firala greeted.

"Good morning," Martha replied. She wondered why Firala was there, but before she could say anything, Firala began talking again.

"I thought you might like to eat something while we discuss what to do."

"We?" Martha asked surprised.

"I want to help you. It is my fault that the Doctor is in this situation and the least I can do is help you find him."

Martha gave her a slight smile. She wasn't sure how much help Firala would be but at least she wasn't alone anymore.

She stepped aside to let Firala in and shut the door behind her. Firala walked over to a small table with two chairs on the balcony and put the tray down. She had brought breakfast for two and placed a plate on the table in front of both chairs. Martha followed her outside and sank down on one of the chairs. Firala sat down on the other.

"So, any ideas what we're going to do?" Firala asked her as soon as they both were seated.

"I was planning to go back to the museum and take a look around to see if we can find anything suspicious. And then we could try to have a talk with Anres and Giranlo."

"And what will we ask them?" Firala asked. "I somehow doubt that asking Anres politely if he could let the Doctor go would help."

"I know, but maybe they'll say something that can help us find out where he is. We have to start somewhere,"

Firala nodded. "I wish there was someone with a bit more experience with missing persons who could help us."

"Isn't there some sort of police on this planet," Martha asked. She picked up a piece of fruit and put it into her mouth.

"There is," Firala said as she put some of the food from the tray on her plate. "But Anres has a lot of money. Most of the police will do what he wants. The people with the most money on this planet can do whatever they want. It's always been like this."

"I thought there hadn't been any criminality on this planet for years," Martha asked, remembering what the Doctor had told her about Durelia before they had arrived two days ago.

"That's what we let the tourists believe. There is still criminality but the police are doing their best to cover it up. Almost everyone on this planet lives from tourism so we're doing our best to make Durelia the perfect holiday planet."

"So that means we are on our own," Martha said. She put the last piece of fruit from her plate in her mouth and stood up. Firala was already putting the plates back on her tray and stood up as well.

"Let's take a look at the museum first," Martha said.

**...**

Martha was glad to find out that the museum opened earlier than the day before so they didn't have to wait until the afternoon. Firala had to organize a few things in her hotel so her employees could take care of everything for a few days if needed, and Martha helped her a bit. When they finally reached the city they only had to wait half an hour until the museum opened. Once they were inside Martha led them to the room where she'd last seen the Doctor. Taking a look around the room she noticed a door with a "staff only" sign. Martha and Firala walked towards it and after taking a quick look around the room to make sure no one was watching them they stepped through. They found themselves in a corridor with four doors on each side. Opposite them was a wall, the end of the corridor.

Martha and Firala walked, careful not to make to any noise, down the corridor. When they reached the first door Firala leaned forward and rested her ear against the wood before straightening again and reaching for the doorknob. The door didn't open and Martha inwardly cursed that she didn't have the sonic screwdriver.

Firala moved to the next door and pressed her ear against it like she had done with the first.

"There is someone inside," she whispered and moved to the next. There she listened again before opening the door.

The room behind the door was a storeroom with nothing interesting inside and Firala closed it again.

"How can you be certain if someone is inside or not?" Martha asked when Firala tried the next door. It was locked.

"My people have excellent hearing," Firala explained. "I can even hear someone breathing through the door if I'm concentrating very hard. We are lucky Anres mostly employs aliens." Firala leaned against the fifth door and listened for a moment before stepping back.

"Someone is coming," she whispered, panic evident in her voice.

Martha grabbed Firala's arm and dragged her a few steps back down the corridor and through the door of the storeroom. She didn't pull the door entirely closed so she could peek through the gab. A man came out of the room, walked down the corridor and disappeared through the second door they'd tried. Martha opened the door again and she and Firala walked back into the corridor.

"He was the only one in that room," Firala whispered. Martha nodded and walked back to the room the man had just left.

The room wasn't big. There were two chairs in front of twenty small computer screens. The screens showed the footage from the CCTV cameras in the museum. Martha walked towards the computer terminal and quickly found out how to choose the footage of the room she had last seen the Doctor in to the time he had vanished the day before. She was very glad of the fact that the TARDIS still translated everything for her so it wasn't hard to operate the computer.

"Hurry up," Firala whispered. She stood next to the almost closed door, peeking nervously outside.

Martha watched on the screen how a man approached the Doctor and Giranlo.

"That's Anres," Firala commented from her spot next to the door.

The man, Anres, talked with the Doctor for a few moments before turning around and walking to the door with the "staff only" sign. The Doctor said something to Giranlo, then followed Anres though the door. Martha wondered what Anres could have said to make the Doctor come with him, and without telling her where he went. She watched Giranlo, who remained in the room for a couple of minutes longer before following the Doctor and Anres. Martha watched the next minutes of the footage at a faster speed and saw how Giranlo came out again to talk to her, then followed her when she left.

Martha looked at the list of the cameras again. There was one in the corridor outside but when she tried to open the footage the computer asked for a password.

She stood up. "Let's go," she said.

Martha and Firala left the room again. They checked the rest of the rooms in the corridor but found them all locked or occupied. "What do we do now," Firala asked.

"First we get out of this corridor before we get caught," Martha whispered back.

They made their way back to the door that led back into the museum. Martha reached it first and opened it carefully to find a security guard standing right in front of it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** I'm so sorry I kept you all waiting for this chapter for so long. There was so much going on in my RL and even when I had a bid of free time I just didn't feel like writing. But now I've finally finished this chapter.

The next chapter will be up sooner.

Thank you for all your reviews. They always make my day.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

The security guard had his back towards the door but as soon as he heard it open he turned around to look into Martha's and Firala's surprised faces.

"What are you doing here?" the guard asked.

Martha recovered from the surprise sooner than Firala. She began frantically trying to think of an explanation that would make the guard let them go, but couldn't come up with a good excuse. She settled instead for smiling at him and starting to give a bad excuse, something that seemed to work for the Doctor more often than it should.

"We got lost," Martha said. "We were looking for the toilet."

The alien looked sceptically at her. "There is a "staff only" sign on the door," he said, not convinced.

"Is there?" Martha asked. "I can't read your language." The TARDIS translated everything for her of course, so she could read the sign as if it were written in English, but the guard didn't know that.

Unfortunately the guard still seemed not convinced with her explanation. "And your Durelian friend here can't read it either, I presume?" the guard asked. Martha exchanged a look with Firala, realising that the sign was written in her native language.

"If you would come with me ladies," the guard said, indicating with a movement of his hand that he wanted them to go back through the door on the threshold of which they still stood.

Martha and Firala had no other choice but to turn around and go back into the corridor they had just left.

The guard led them to one of the doors that had been locked and opened it with a key. Then he held the door open for them to enter. The room was small but comfortably furnished with a big desk surrounded by chairs in the middle. The desk occupied most of the room. It seemed to be a conference room.

"Please sit down," the guard said as he followed them inside, pulling the door closed behind him. Martha and Firala both sat down on the comfortable chairs. The guard took a seat at the other side of the table.

"Now please tell me why I shouldn't call Anres and ban you both from entering this museum ever again. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Martha measured her options. Getting banned from entering the museum would be really bad. They would have to return to this corridor somehow. It was the only lead they had to finding the Doctor. And a conversation with Anres wouldn't help them at that moment either.

The only chance they had lay in convincing the guard to let them go. And the only way she could think of was telling him the truth and hoping that he didn't know about what Anres was doing to extend his collection.

"My name is Martha Jones and this is Firala. We are here to find a friend of mine who we believe has been kidnapped by Anres," Martha said. The guard gave her another sceptical look, but before he could say anything Martha began to calmly tell him everything that had happened since she and the Doctor had landed on Durelia.

**...**

Kilas, the security guard, sat on his chair in the conference room and listened to the story this Martha Jones told him. Only a few years ago he would have dismissed her story as complete and utter rubbish. But in the years he had now been working in this museum he had heard some disconcerting stories about Anres. The owner of the museum had even been accused of kidnapping before but no one had been able to prove it back then. Kilas hadn't believed the stories back then but now, years later, he couldn't dismiss it as easily anymore. But he still felt reluctant to believe these two strangers in front of him.

"Do you have any proof that what you're saying is true?" he asked the two women.

"We've seen CCTV footage in one of the rooms that shows Anres leading the Doctor into that corridor outside, but we couldn't see what happened in the corridor," Martha replied.

Kilas was starring at her for a moment, trying to decide if she was telling the truth. He wanted to know for sure before he decided what to do with the two women. Before he could convince himself that it was a bad idea he stood up and walked towards the door. "Follow me," he said.

Kilas opened the door to the room where Martha and Firala had said they'd seen the CCTV footage and went to the computer terminal. Martha quickly told him which footage showed the Doctor and Anres going through the door with the "staff only" sign and Anres returning alone some time later.

After seeing that, Kilas called up the footage of the corridor outside and entered the password. Firala and Martha leaned closer to the screen as they watched the Doctor and Anres walking down the corridor. They watched how Anres pressed his hands against the wall at the end of the corridor and the wall slid to one side, revealing a small room and a metal door behind it. The camera in the corridor outside also recorded audio as opposed to the cameras in other parts of the museum so this time they could hear what was said.

"That's a DNA scanner isn't it?" they heard the Doctor ask.

"Yes," came Anres reply. "One can never be too careful. It is programmed to let only me and my most trusted personnel in."

Anres and the Doctor disappeared through the door and a bit later Giranlo followed them. Both Giranlo and Anres came back some time later but not the Doctor.

Kilas let out a sigh. It seemed to be true, his boss had kidnapped somebody. And he wouldn't become part of this. But he wasn't sure if he was content to risk his job for helping some strangers.

"Do you believe us now?" Firala asked.

"Yes," Kilas said. After a few moments of silence he made a decision. "I will let you go. Leave immediately and don't tell anyone about meeting me."

"We won't," Martha assured him.

"And don't count on me helping you should our paths ever cross again."

Martha nodded. "Thank you," she said, and she and Firala left the room. Kilas turned back around towards the computer screens, hoping no one would ever find out about this. He reached out towards the terminal and deleted the footage that showed Martha and Firala in the corridor.

**...**

Martha and Firala sat down at a table in a small café near the museum to talk about what had happened.

"That was close," Martha said.

Firala nodded. If the security guard hadn't let them go they would have been in trouble. "What are we going to do now?" Firala asked.

"We now know that the Doctor is somewhere behind that door, and Anres and Giranlo are the only people we know of who can open that door," Martha said more to herself than to Firala. "We need a plan."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please leave a review.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** My RL seems to be normalising itself now so the next chapter should be up in a week.

Thanks for all your support. And a big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

Anres picked up a long, silver object from the table in front of him to get a closer look at it.

"What is it?" a voice asked from behind him and Anres turned around to see Giranlo standing next to a stasis capsule.

"I think it's a sonic device," Anres answered him as he turned back around to lay the device back on the table. "Nothing special, but at least more valuable than the rest of this rubbish." Anres gestured towards the table where he and Giranlo had put everything they had found in the Doctor's dimensionally transcendental pockets. That task had taken them hours and they hadn't found anything interesting.

"Why would anyone want to carry all this around with him?" Giranlo asked as he walked towards the table and picked up a yo-yo that was lying there. "I don't even know what this is."

Anres let his gaze wander over the objects on the table one last time before he turned away. His gaze came to rest on the stasis capsule.

"Is everything alright with him?" he asked Giranlo.

"Yes," The fishman said, putting the yo-yo back on the table. "He is perfectly fine. He can stay inside this capsule for centuries without ageing and in exactly the same condition."

Anres smiled as he regarded the Time Lord inside the stasis capsule. He was the most precious part of his collection, together with his TARDIS. The time and spaceship had been brought from the hill where they'd found it to the museum at Anres' orders. He hadn't been able to get inside, even with the key but it was still a precious possession.

"Did you hear anything about his girlfriend since she left the TARDIS yesterday?" Anres asked, without taking his eyes off the stasis capsule.

"No, but I was here most of the time."

Anres turned his head to look at Giranlo. "Then check if she's been in the museum today. I don't want her snooping around and trying to find the Doctor. Check all the footage from the CCTV cameras."

Giranlo gave him a short nod and made to leave. Before he could reach the door Anres stopped him. "And look especially at the footage of the corridor. We can't have anyone finding the door to this area."

**...**

Martha and Firala had been spending all day trying to find out more about Giranlo. Firala had called in a favour of one of her friends who worked at the local residents' registration office to get information about him, but all they could find out was that he wasn't officially living on the planet, nor was he officially working for Anres.

After hours of searching they finally found out that he lived in a small apartment that was owned by Anres.

Finding information about the owner of the museum himself was considerably easier. He lived in a big house right next to his museum. After talking to a journalist Firala knew because she'd been writing an article about her museum some time ago, they learned that Anres had been subject of two investigations by the police about missing tourists on the planet in the past, but they hadn't found anything. According to the journalist, Anres had paid the police a neat sum of money for stopping those investigations.

But nothing they'd found out so far helped them in finding a way to save the Doctor.

"Maybe we could force Giranlo to help us get through that secret door," Firala said as they left the building where Giranlo lived. He wasn't at home and the two of them hadn't been able to open the door. Martha wished, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, that she had her own sonic screwdriver. Maybe she should ask the Doctor to build her one when this was over.

"I don't think we could be much of a threat to him. He probably has a weapon and we don't. I don't want to use violence anyway," Martha answered.

"Maybe we won't be able to save the Doctor without using at least a bit of violence," Firala said. Martha nodded. She had been thinking about that, too. But she wasn't ready to consider violence unless they really had no other option.

"Let's try to find out more about this museum. Maybe we will find another way in, or someone who is willing to help us."

"I hope you're right," Firala said unconvinced.

Martha took a deep breath. She had been in many situations that were far worse than this one since she'd met the Doctor. She had walked the Earth on her own for a year. And now she would find a way to save the Doctor. She had to believe in that and keep trying.

**...**

Giranlo sat up straight. He had spend the last hour in front of a computer screen in his office, looking at footage of the entire museum and now he had finally found what he'd been looking for. He could see Martha Jones entering the museum, together with a female Durelian.

Following their way through the museum was quite easy. They had gone straight to the room where the Doctor had met Anres. But then they left the part of the room the cameras covered. And the next time they showed up on the footage was nearly an hour later. Giranlo didn't need to think long to figure out what they had done in the meantime. The door to the corridor that let to Anres' secret door was in that part of the room. They must have been there.

Giranlo used his password to call up the footage of the corridor of the time Martha Jones and her Durelian friend had been there. But it showed no one in the corridor to that time.

He considered the possibility that the two women hadn't been in the corridor after all. But something felt wrong. The footage showed no one in the corridor for an hour. There should have been at least one security guard in that time.

**...**

Anres turned around in a small circle, taking in the entire room, a big smile on his face. He was in the room where he stored the most precious pieces of his collection. All the sheets he had put over the glass cases before he had lured the Doctor down here were gone. The stasis capsule he'd put the Doctor in was now standing upright next to the TARDIS. He wasn't the only person in his collection. Three others were in the room, all of them the last survivors of their species. Anres had been able to capture two of them on Durelia. It was the most popular planet for holidays and had many new visitors from all over the galaxy every day. That was one of the reasons why Anres had chosen this planet to live on. And he knew that the Doctor had been on Durelia many times before. Anres had been trying to find him since he'd first heard of the last of the Time Lords.

In that moment one of the computer screens on the wall beeped to let him know that someone wanted to contact him. He walked towards the screen and switched it on. Giranlo's face appeared on the screen.

"Have you found anything?" Anres asked.

"I have," Giranlo answered. "Martha Jones and a female Durelian have been in the museum today."

"Who was this Durelian?" asked Anres.

"I don't know. I didn't recognize her, but Durelians look all the same to me. I'll send you a picture later," Giranlo told him. "Anyway, the two of them have been in the corridor that leads to the secret door. But someone has deleted the footage and replaced it by some of an empty corridor. And this person was very clever about it. It took me hours just to confirm that the footage was deleted and I can't recover the real footage. But," he continued quickly when he saw Anres face turning into an angry mask. "I have been able to find out who was responsible for it."

"So? Who was it?" Anres asked, trying to keep calm.

"It was one of the security guards. His name is Kilas."

Anres stayed silent for a couple of seconds. Then he said: "Make sure Ms Jones doesn't get into this museum again."

Giranlo nodded in confirmation. "And what about Kilas?" he asked.

"Kill him," Anres ordered. Then he turned off the screen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Please let me know what you think.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:** Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this to his/her favourite stories list. And of course thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Kilas opened the door to his flat with his keys and went inside, kicking off his shoes as he made his way to the kitchen to make himself something to eat.

It was late in the evening, but he had finished his last safety inspection tour for the day only half an hour ago. The museum had already been closed for two hours.

Nothing interesting had happened after Martha Jones and Firala had left the museum, and nothing had indicated that anyone knew about him helping the two women, but Kilas couldn't shake off the bad feeling. Maybe it was just because he was afraid of getting caught. Now that he knew what Anres was capable of doing for his collection he didn't want him to think he was a danger to it.

Kilas opened the fridge to get a few things for his dinner when his eyes caught a small device at the inside of the door of the fridge that started to blink the moment he opened the door. Kilas had spent enough time as a security guard, and working for the military before that, to know what that small device was. It was a bomb. And he had only seconds left before it would explode.

Without wasting any time he turned around and started to run towards the door of his flat and down the stairs. Just as he reached the foot of the stairs the bomb exploded behind him and he was thrown to the floor. He immediately struggled back to his feet and made his way out of the building as fast as he could.

He only stopped when he reached a street some distance from his destroyed flat. The street was full of people, mostly tourists, so he figured that no one would try to kill him here. He sank down on a bench and leaned forward, staring at his feet. He was only wearing socks and his feet hurt from running the distance.

He took some deep breaths to calm himself down. Someone wanted to kill him and he was pretty sure this person was Anres. Now he knew exactly how far Anres was ready to go to keep his collection safe.

Kilas looked up again and let his gaze wander over the crowd. He thought he saw a flash of blue scales, but the person disappeared behind a corner before he had a chance to make sure it was really Giranlo. He had to get away from here. Anres would surely not give up after his first attempt to kill him had failed. And he needed help. But who would help him? The police would just look away as long as Anres paid them enough money, like they always did. His only chance was to prove to everyone what Anres was doing. And to do that he needed to find Martha Jones.

**...**

Martha let out a sigh and rubbed her tired eyes. She was back in Firala's hotel, and she and Firala were currently sitting in an office, looking at a computer screen. They had now reached a point in their investigation where they didn't know what to do next. They had used all of Firala's contacts and found out everything they could about Anres and his museum, but they hadn't found anything that could help them to save the Doctor.

"You need to sleep," Firala told her.

Martha nodded. The worry and the sleepless last night were beginning to catch up with her. She had trouble keeping her eyes open.

"You're right," Martha said. "But we need to get back to the city very early tomorrow. I want to talk with Giranlo. We'll somehow manage to get him to help us get through that secret door."

Firala nodded. Martha stood and made for the door when Firala stopped her.

"Martha, when we talk to Giranlo tomorrow we could get into real trouble. He is a criminal. And probably dangerous. I don't know if I'm brave enough to do this."

"You helped me a lot today. I won't ask you to come with me tomorrow if you don't want to," Martha replied.

"Aren't you afraid?" asked Firala.

"Of course I am. But I know I have to do all I can to help the Doctor."

"I wish I was as brave as you," Firala said.

"You are very brave, Firala. Maybe more then me. You don't even know the Doctor and still you helped me."

"Only because I felt guilty for helping Anres capture him in the first place." Firala pushed her hair out of her face. "I will come with you tomorrow."

"Are you sure?" Martha asked.

Firala nodded and gave her a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Martha returned her smile and turned to walk to her room.

**...**

She had just settled down on her bed when someone knocked on her door.

"Martha, it's me," Firala called. Martha got up again to open the door, putting on a dressing grown on the way.

"There is someone here who wants to talk to you." Firala stepped aside to let her see the person who was standing behind her. It was the security guard they'd met in the museum that day. He looked very shaken and dirty, and he wasn't wearing any shoes.

Martha opened the door wider and stepped out into the corridor.

"What happened to you?" she asked, afraid of what he was going to tell her.

"Someone tried to kill me. There was a bomb in my flat. I guess Anres found out I helped you."

Martha saw the fear in Firala's eyes as she exchanged a glance with her. She wondered if she now regretted her decision to come with her.

"I'm so sorry," she said to the security guard. She felt guilty. This man had almost been killed just because he had helped her.

"It's not your fault. Anres was the one who ordered someone to kill me. He needs to be stopped. And I think I have no other choice but to help you stop him. That's what you're doing, isn't it?"

"Yes. And first of all we need a way through that secret door we saw in the CCTV footage."

"I can help you get into the museum," the security guard said. "I know it better than the back of my hand and I know how the security works. But how do you plan to open the door?"

"The only two people who can open the door as far as we know are Anres and Giranlo," The man nodded. "Anres would never do anything to endanger his collection. We need to somehow get Giranlo to open the door. "

"You mean force him to open it? I think that could work. He is a coward."

"Maybe, but I want to talk to him first."

"Alright, but I don't think talking to him without threatening him will help."

"We'll see." Then it occurred to her that she'd never learned the man's name. "What's your name?" she asked him.

"I'm Kilas."

"I glad you're here, Kilas, even if I'm sorry you got caught into this mess. We need all the help we can get."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think and review.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** Thank you so much for all the support. And thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

It was still very early in the morning and the suns hadn't risen yet when Martha awoke. She had only had a couple of hours sleep, but she was wide awake the moment she remembered what lay ahead. She was even surprised she had slept at all.

Martha got dressed quickly and swept her long, black hair up into a ponytail. Then she left her room and went to the lobby to wait for Firala and Kilas. The few other guests of the hotel were still asleep.

Kilas was already sitting in the lobby when Martha arrived. He didn't look as if he had got any sleep at all. He was wearing the new shoes Firala had provided for him.

Firala showed up a short time later looking very sleepy. She sat down next to them.

"I don't know exactly where Giranlo is living," Kilas said after they had all eaten some breakfast, which Firala had brought with her.

"Don't worry, we found his flat yesterday," Martha said.

"Then we should go there now. He will leave for work in three hours."

"When will we go to the museum?" Firala asked.

"Directly after we've talked to Giranlo. It will be easier to get into the museum in daytime when it's full of visitors."

"What if Anres has ordered his guards not to let us in. They know we were already in front of that secret door," Martha said.

"Giranlo can help us with that as well. They won't stop us when he's with us."

"Alright, let's go then."

**...**

When they reached the city the first sun had risen and was bathing the sky in red light. They made their way towards Giranlo's flat.

Kilas opened the panel next to the door and disabled the lock within a few minutes by short-circuiting it. Then he pushed the door open and stepped into the flat as quietly as possible. Martha and Firala followed him just as quietly. It was a small, but comfortable-looking flat. Martha opened a door carefully to look inside. When she saw that it was the kitchen, she closed the door again and moved to the next.

Kilas, who was standing in front of the next door, reached out to the doorknob. He turned it and carefully pushed it open. Through the gap he could see Giranlo, who was still fast asleep, not aware of the intruders. Kilas was very careful not to make a noise but in this moment Firala took a step backwards and knocked over a vase that was set on a small table behind her. The noise was enough to wake Giranlo. He sat up with a start and reached towards his bedside table where a gun was lying. But Kilas was there first. He pushed Giranlo to the side and gripped the gun himself, aiming it at the fishman.

"I'm sorry," Firala whispered as she and Martha followed Kilas inside.

"It's alright," Martha told her reassuringly. Firala was very nervous and Martha could understand it. But maybe it would have been better if she'd stayed behind.

"Kilas," Giranlo said to the former security guard. "What a surprise. What are you doing here? And may I ask what I've done to have a gun pointed at me?"

"You tried to kill me," Kilas said.

"And now you're working for her?" Giranlo nodded towards Martha. "So you really are a traitor."

"You helped your boss Anres to capture the Doctor," Martha said coolly.

"I did. I suppose now you want me to help you get him back?"

"We will make sure everyone will know what Anres did. You could help us and no one will know you had something to do with it."

"You will need proof first. And you won't get that without my help. I would be really stupid to help you get proof that I was involved in kidnapping someone."

"You would do the right thing. Kidnapping people for a collection is wrong."

He smiled at her. "As if I care about that. Anres is paying me well. That's all I care about. And he would have me killed if I betrayed his trust like that."

"I can kill you as well," Kilas said. "Miss Jones was so nice to give you a choice, but we can just as easily force you."

Giranlo eyed the gun that was still aimed at his head.

"You don't want to use violence, do you?" Giranlo asked Martha with a condescending smile. "That's not like you. You've spent too much time with the Doctor. Always try to talk your way out."

Martha returned his gaze. She was still reluctant to do it Kilas' way, but she had to admit that they weren't getting anywhere. Giranlo had no conscience. There was nothing anyone could say to make him help them. But Giranlo was afraid of Kilas' gun. He always kept an eye on it but he did his best to appear cool. And now he tried to get Martha's reluctance to use a gun to get him out of the situation.

"We'll do it your way, Kilas," Martha said.

"Alright," Kilas said. "This is what we're going to do. We'll walk into the Museum and Giranlo will tell the guard at the entrance to let us through. Then we'll go straight to the secret door, and you will open it and take us to the Doctor. And if you do something I don't like, I will kill you."

Giranlo didn't look too happy about this. But he nodded towards Kilas. There was fear in his eyes, but also something else. He wasn't ready to let them win. Martha was sure that Giranlo would try something to stop them. She just hoped Kilas would be able to stop him.

**...**

Getting into the museum was very easy. Kilas kept his gun hidden, but was ready to use it should Giranlo try anything. He had changed the settings so a shot would only stun a person, but Giranlo didn't know that.

Giranlo simply nodded towards the guard in the entrance hall and led them through the door, Kilas close behind him. They reached the secret door without anyone stopping them. No one was in the corridor when they reached it and Kilas pushed Giranlo towards the wall where they knew the door was.

"Open it," Kilas said and aimed his gun at the fishman.

Giranlo pressed a hand against the wall and it slipped to one side to reveal the small room behind it. Kilas pushed him inside and Giranlo put his left hand on the DNA scanner next to the door. The door slipped open and the group walked down the stairs till they reached the heavy iron door. Giranlo opened that door as well and they stepped through into the room with the glass cases. In one corner of the room stood the TARDIS and next to it Martha could see a stasis capsule. And inside the capsule was the Doctor.

Martha ran towards the capsule and took a look at the display. She was glad that she had some experience with stasis due to her travels with the Doctor.

"He is alright!" she said relieved. She would be able to wake him up quite easily.

Kilas and Firala joined her by the capsule and for a moment no one took any notice of Giranlo. The fishman carefully edged closer to a wall and touched a computer panel.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:** Thank you all for your continuing support. Your reviews always make my day.

This story is near the end now. There will be one more chapter. And I'm already planning a sequel.

As always a big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

Martha pushed a few buttons next to the display on one side of the capsule. She had seen similar stasis capsules on a spaceship she and the Doctor had visited a few months ago, so she knew how to operate it. But the access to the program that would wake the Doctor up had been restricted. Fortunately, Anres hadn't really thought it possible that anyone could get down here, so he hadn't used anything too complicated. Martha would be able to bypass the restriction with the sonic screwdriver.

"Firala, I need to find an object the Doctor had with him. Hopefully it is still down here somewhere. Can you help me find it?"

"Sure," Firala said. Martha explained to her what the sonic looked like and Firala immediately started searching for it.

"Keep an eye on him," Martha told Kilas, indicating Giranlo, who was leaning against the opposite wall. Kilas nodded and turned back towards Giranlo with his weapon in his hand.

Martha began to search around the room for the sonic herself but only two minutes later Firala came back through a door that led to a small laboratory with the sonic in her hand.

"Did you mean this," she asked. Martha ran towards her.

"Yes! thank you Firala," she said smiling, taking the sonic from Firala. Then she turned back to the capsule. She changed the setting on the sonic and used it on the terminal. A moment later she had access to the program and could activate it to wake up the Doctor. She was really glad the Doctor had explained the different settings of the sonic screwdriver to her a few months ago.

Martha stood in front of the capsule, watching the program doing its work while keeping an eye on the display to see if everything went as it should.

A few minutes later the Doctor started breathing on his own again. The capsule opened itself and the Doctor slumped into Martha's arms, who'd stepped forward when the capsule had opened. Martha eased him to the ground carefully and checked his pulse.

"Doctor, can you hear me?" she asked.

The Doctor slowly opened his eyes and then squeezed them shut again against the bright light in the room. "Martha?" he whispered hoarsely.

"I'm here," Martha replied, softly stroking his face.

She looked up and saw Firala smiling at them. Kilas still watched Giranlo, who was still leaning against the wall, seemingly deep in thought.

Martha's gaze returned to the Doctor who was looking back at her. His eyes had finally adjusted to the light.

"Hi," he said, grinning at her. Martha retuned the grin and helped him into a sitting position on the floor.

"Careful," she advised. "Take it slow. Your body needs to recover from the stasis"

"Yes, Dr. Jones," the Doctor said, still smiling at her. "I knew you'd find me," he then said more seriously and leaned forward to embrace her. Martha returned the hug, happy to have him back.

In that moment they heard the sound of the iron door opening. Giranlo used the moment of distraction to move towards the open door where Anres now walked in, a gun aimed at Kilas, who was the only one with a weapon in the room. Giranlo stood next to him and accepted the gun Anres gave him.

"No one moves," he said.

"Stop it, Anres. It's over," the Doctor said. He slowly stood up leaning heavily on Martha for support.

"I will not let you destroy my collection," Anres said.

"How did you know we were here?" Martha asked.

"I set off an alarm while you lot were distracted," Giranlo answered her with a smug smile. "And I think now you have the disadvantage." He raised his gun and shot at Kilas. But the ex security guard just managed to jump aside and behind a glass case. The beam of Giranlo's laser gun hit the wall behind him.

Giranlo shot again and this time he hit Firala at the shoulder. Firala let out a scream and fell to the ground.

"Firala!" Martha shouted and tried to reach her friend, but the Doctor pulled her into the opposite direction behind a glass case. And not a moment too soon because the next beam hit the glass case next to the stasis capsule she had been standing in front of only a moment before.

Giranlo made to shoot again but Anres gripped his arm and forced it down. "Are you insane!" he shouted. "You hit a glass case! You could have damaged the exhibit."

Kilas used the moment to act. He shot Giranlo with the gun he had set on the stun function nearly an hour ago and Giranlo slumped to the ground.

"He is only unconscious," Martha whispered to the Doctor. She knew how much he hated guns.

Anres moved behind the open door to keep from being shot himself.

"Anres," the Doctor called. "Stop this. You don't want to damage your exhibits so you can't shoot at us. It's over. You can't keep your collection but at least it will be safe."

"Why can't you just leave? I'll let you go. Just leave and I can keep the rest of the collection."

"This was not the first time you kidnapped someone for you collection. There are other prisoners down here. This has to stop," Martha said.

"If we start shooting at each other we will destroy some of the exhibits," Kilas said. "Put down your gun."

They waited for a long moment before Anres let go of his gun. It fell to the ground and he kicked it to the middle of the room. Kilas walked towards it, his own gun still raised.

Martha ran to Firala and knelt beside her to check on her wound. She had a nasty looking flesh wound but it was not life threatening. Wounds caused by laser guns didn't bleed much but she needed to get to hospital soon or she could lose the ability to use her left arm.

Martha fetched a medical bag from the TARDIS and tended to the wound while Kilas chained Anres to a table with some handcuffs he found in the other room, then he and the Doctor put Giranlo into the stasis capsule. After they where finished the Doctor knelt down next to Firala.

"How is she?" he asked Martha.

"Not good. We need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible."

"We can take her there with the TARDIS," he said and stood up. Together they carried Firala into the TARDIS and eased her down onto the floor.

"Kilas," Martha called and walked back to the door. The Doctor followed her. "Are you coming with us?"  
>"I think I will stay here and search for the other prisoners. And then I will call the authorities and they can handle the rest of this. I don't think they can turn a blind eye on this, but maybe I'll call the press as well to make sure they can't cover it up. I'll come to the hospital later."<p>

"Okay. Thank you for everything," Martha gave him a short hug. "This will give you access to the terminals on the stasis capsules," she explained, giving him the sonic screwdriver. "Just point it at the display and press this button. I'll see you later." With that she turned and walked back into the TARDIS to check on Firala.

The Doctor shook Kilas hand. "Thanks for your help," he said. "And good luck with finding everyone." He followed Martha inside the TARDIS. On the threshold he turned back and said: "Oh and I want that back" pointing at the sonic. Kilas saluted him comically and watched as the Doctor pulled the door shut. A moment later the TARDIS started to dematerialise. Kilas smiled, then turned around and started his work. He'd seen at least one other stasis capsule already in this room and he would not rest till he had saved everyone Anres had kidnapped.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Please let me know what you think and review.


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:** This is the final chapter. I want to thank you all for your reviews and continuing support. The first chapter of the sequel will hopefully be up in a week.

A big thank you to Persiflage for beta reading.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Doctor Who

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue<strong>

Martha helped Firala through the door of the TARDIS. They had landed directly in front of the hotel. It was nearly a week since the Durelian had been shot by Giranlo and she had finally been allowed to leave the hospital today. The Doctor and Martha had offered to bring her home with the TARDIS. The Doctor had also offered her a trip with the TARDIS, wherever and whenever she wanted to go, as a thank you for helping him and Martha, but she had declined. She'd told them she had had enough action to last her for a lifetime since she'd met them.

Firala and Martha both smiled when they saw Kilas standing in front of the entrance of the hotel. He walked towards them slowly.

"It's good to see you on your feet again!" he greeted Firala as he reached them.

"Kilas!" Firala said grinning. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital again. I was only there once and you were still unconscious. I had a lot of work to do." He turned toward Martha.

"Dr. Jones, it's good to see you again. And you too, Doctor!" he added as the Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS behind the two women.

Martha took a step forwards to give Kilas a hug.

"Nice to see you again," the Doctor said grinning and shook Kilas hand.

"So, what have you been up to the last days?" Firala asked Kilas as they made their way to the hotel

"I've made sure Anres and Giranlo get a fair trial and don't get to buy themselves out of the trouble. I talked to a lot of journalists the past week. And it worked. They'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison." Kilas helped Firala to sit down on a couch in the lobby of her hotel.

"Good. They can't hurt anyone any more," Firala said relieved. She had been a bit worried that Anres would somehow get away with everything and try to kill her for taking his precious collection away from him.

"What happened to the collection?" Firala asked.

"The Doctor and Martha returned some of the exhibits Anres stole back to their real owners. And they brought the other prisoners back home. One of them had been in stasis for 37 years. It will be hard for him to live on his homeworld again."

"Not that much. We brought him there 37 years earlier," the Doctor said.

Kilas and Firala both smiled. They had only recently learned who the Doctor was and hadn't got used the concept of time travel yet.

"The rest of the collection has been confiscated," Kilas finished.

**...**

A few hours later the Doctor and Martha returned to the TARDIS. Kilas had promised to look after Firala until she had returned to full health and help her with her hotel. He still had no job. The museum had been closed after everything Anres had done had come to light.

"So, where to now?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know. I'm in need of a holiday but we just finished one."

The Doctor grinned. "How about staying in the TARDIS for a couple of days?" he asked. He walked towards her and slid his arms around her waist.

"That would be nice," Martha said, leaning into his embrace.

"I've got something for you," the Doctor whispered into her hair. Martha looked up at him. "It's a present. To thank you for saving my life."

"There is no need for that. We save each other's lives all the time."

"I know but I want to give it to you anyway." He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small silver object.

"Is that…" Martha began.

"Yep," the Doctor said, popping the p. "It's a sonic screwdriver." He offered it to her with a grin and Martha took it. The sonic was smaller than the Doctor's but looked similar to his.

She grinned and stood on her tiptoes to press a lingering kiss to his lips.

"Thank you" she said before throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him down for another kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story and please leave a review to let me know how you liked it.


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